Chewy looks at him like he’s an idiot, before shooting that same gaze at everyone else waiting for an answer. She rolls her eyes and lets out a bone weary sigh. “They have matching Darwin’s tubercles.” We stare at her. “Pointy elf ears? Both of them have them on the right side. Highly genetic. Given that Rhodie and Mad Dog don’t have them, I figured it was their mother.” She shrugs. “Alongside their nose shape, hair colour, eyes.” She waves a hand flippantly in the air.
“And you never thought to tell me this?” Rhodie grits out.
“Didn’t really seem all that relevant.” Rhodie stares at his woman like she grew two heads. “Which now seems like perhaps it was relevant after all?” she says with an apologetic grin.
“I need a smoke.” Mad Dog says, standing and clapping a hand on Rhodie’s shoulder. “Call me if you hear anything.”
“Wait, I’ve never seen you smoke?” Pops says, his head popping up from where it had been resting on Lovely’s crown.
“The situation calls for it.”
Pops stares at him for a moment before dipping his chin. “That it does, brother. That it does.”
I catch Mad Dog’s hand as he moves past me, giving it a squeeze, trying to pass on what little strength I might have. His lips tip up and he presses his lips to the top of my head.
“Wait here for Switch. He's going to need you when he’s done.” He pulls back, his gentle brown hazel eyes searching mine, making sure I understand him.
I give him a little nod and a tight smile. I will be there for Switch just like he was there for me. I’ll be there for all my friends, I owe them that much. Before Mad Dog can pull away fully the doors open and there he is. Weary but still shockingly handsome.
“He’s going to be OK,” he says hoarsely, his hand shaking slightly at his side as he clears his throat and says again, louder, “He’s going to be OK.”
A roar goes up around the room we’re in, everyone hugging and celebrating. Marx is alive. He’s going to be OK. My gaze meets Lovely’s and I give her a shaky smile, and instead of looking at me with disgust at what I’ve brought to her doorstep, she gives me a brilliant smile, reaching her hand out and squeezing mine gently.
“Can you give little Bee a big kiss from me and tell her that her daddy will be home soon?”
I swallow down the lump in my throat and nod. “Yeah, I can do that,” I whisper.
Switch rests his hand on Lovely’s shoulder, murmuring into her ear, before stepping back and pressing a kiss to her head, then he turns to me and I’m frozen in place.
“Let’s go home.”
Switch
Joy is quiet next to me, as we leave the hospital behind us. Moss has officers stationed at the hospital, officers that Fox and Nitro have vetted themselves, and we have two more escorting some of us back to the clubhouse. The brothers with kids wanted to get back to them, hold them a little closer and tuck them into bed tonight. Lovely will stay with her Ol Man, Rhodie and Mad Dog to keep her company.
Tilting my head I take in Joy’s profile in the fading light. She picks at her cuticles and I know that she’s tearing herself up about what happened. Nothing I can say will help and at this moment I don’t have words to offer her. Closing my eyes I try to shake off the fear that seems to cling to me still. The fear that I wasn’t going to be able to help Marx. It came so fucking close and if Roman hadn’t have stepped up and dropped a big fucking bomb on us, then I shudder to think what could have happened.
A warm hand covers the top of mine that rests on my thigh and I turn my hand over, linking my fingers with Joy’s. So small and pale, her cuticles red raw. Her thumb twitches in place, index finger curving around mine to reach the raw skin.
“I don’t like seeing you hurt,” I murmur low, sandwiching her hand between my two, large mitts.
The corner of her lip twitches before her warm brown eyes meet mine. “I don’t like seeing you hurt, either.” She holds my gaze and I can’t look away. I don’t want to.
“We’re home,” Tav says, his usual jovial nature subdued. Peering out the window for a moment he looks over his shoulder at me. “Doesn’t even look like anything happened here. Whoever we used to clean up, we should keep them on.” He whistles low before he gets out of the car, slamming the door behind him and jogging around the front to open the door for his woman.
Blanche doesn't say a word, just looks over her shoulder at us before giving us a small smile and taking Tav’s outstretched hand. I let out a breath and then open my door, sliding out, my hand still clasped with Joy’s as she slides out behind me. We walk hand in hand into the clubhouse and I move to take us to the basement where Mama Debs and the kids still are, but she stops me in my tracks. Tugging me she instead heads toward the stairs, taking them slowly, one by one, me trailing behind her. She opens the door to the room that she stayed in last time, the one across the hall from mine, and she leads me to the bed. She doesn’t say a word as she pushes gently at my chest until my knees hit the bed and I land on my ass. Her lush, pink lips curl up slightly and she sinks to her knees,hands resting gently on my thighs.
“Joy-”
“Shh,” she hushes me with a whisper.
Her small, perfect hands run down my shins to my boots where she unlaces them, removing them one at a time. Next, she peels off my socks, tucking them into my boots which sit neatly, side by side behind her. She rises to her feet and then leaves the room and I wonder if something is wrong, but then I hear water, beating against the tiled shower wall. Joy, my Joy is taking care of me. Getting to my feet I peel off my tshirt, shuck off my jeans and underwear and make my way to the bathroom. She looksup at me with a smile on her face and holds the shower curtain open for me. I press a kiss to her crown as I brush past her in the small space, ignoring the pulsing of my dick at being this close to her, this vulnerable. Climbing into the shower the hot water beats down on my body, the adrenaline of earlier leaching out, washing down the drain with the water, taking away the blood, sweat, fear.
I jump when a small hand touches my shoulder, slick with soap, the muscles tensing and then turning to goo as Joy runs her slick palms down my back, over my backside, down my legs.
“Joy,” I choke out, breath caught in my throat at how good she feels.
“Let me take care of you,” she says softly, but I hear the underlying steel in her voice. She needs this as much as I do.
